"I'm glad I was finally able to bring this course—this
monster—to its knees."

Ben Hogan, after his final-round 67 at
Oakland Hills in 1951. (That score was equaled today
by Nick Carlson of Michigan and Scottie Scheffler of
Texas.)

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI (August 15, 2016) -- The
early leaders might not have played the famed
"Monster" (the South Course at Oakland Hills, playing
at 7129 yards for this championship) but they were
impressive nonetheless.

Lipsomb University golfer Dawson Armstrong sits
alone
on the top of the leaderboard after posting 7 birdies
against 1 bogey for a round of 6-under 64 on the
North. Armstrong won the Western Amateur in 2015,
proving he can handle the combination of stroke and
match play that will be required to put his name on the
Havemeyer Trophy.

“I'm actually a little more excited about just a
personal goal,” Armstrong told reporters following his
round. “I've shot a lot of 65s but I've never shot 64 in a
tournament, so it feels really good to finally reach that
hump.”

Robin Petersson of Sweden (and Augusta State,
also posted quite a round on the 6829-yard North
Course, a 5-under 65. Starting on the 10th hole, the
Augusta State
golfer (and European Palmer Cup team member)
caught fire with 6-straight birdies starting at the 18th
hole and continuing through the 5th hole on the
front nine, a 629-yard par five.

“The first few holes on the front nine out here, I
just had perfect numbers on a five-hole stretch,”
Petersson said. “I just fired right at it, and I was close,
and I was able to make the putts. It's as easy as
that.”

“I'm really excited I pulled it off,” continued
Petersson. "I think the U.S. Amateur is the best
amateur event in the world, and where I'm at right now,
it feels pretty good.”

Also posting 65 was
Duke golfer Alex Smalley (Wake Forest, NC) and Gavin
Hall of Pittsford, New York who did it in bogey-free
fasion. Hall was one of three Texas
Longhorns among the top 11 players.

“Any time you can be bogey-free in a USGA event,
it's pretty good,” a satisfied Hall said of his round on the
North Course. "This course is really gettable, especially
with the conditions out there.”

Sam Horsfield of Florida, and Taylor Funk of Florida
(University of Texas) headline a large group at 4-under
66.

None of the South Course (The "Monster")
contestants shot lower than
the 67 Ben Hogan was so happy with many years ago,
but two of them matched it -- Nick Carlson of Michigan
and Scottie Scheffler of University of Texas.

Carlson, who plays for University of Michigan, was a
two-time state high school champion who is no
stranger to low scores. He shot a 64 at the Michigan
State course in winning his second state title in 2015.
Scheffler has a long record of accomplishments
including U.S. Junior titles and collegiate success at
University of Texas, the runners-up at the 2016 NCAA
Championships.

“Yeah, it’s just a brutal golf course,” Carlson said
the South course layout. “It
was everything I expected and probably a little more.
When I got here on Saturday, I was like, ‘Holy cow, this
is going to be tough.'"

2014 champion Gunn Yang opened with an even-
par 70 on the North Course. A total of 49 players broke
par on the first day, 34 on the North Course and 15 on
the South Course.

The U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA
championship, was first played in 1895 at
Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. The
event,
which has no age restriction, is open to
those
with a Handicap Index of 2.4 or lower. It is
one
of 13 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA, 10 of which are
strictly
for amateurs. It is the pre-eminent
amateur
competition in the world.
Applications are typically placed online, starting
the
third week in April at www.usga.org.